not the wife or kids. But from about 40mph there is a whine, is it likely to be the wheel bearings or the diff. I already know I've got sticking rear calipers (in process of sorting), but the noise doesnt go away when the pedal is pressed like the brakes do.

 

might not go away if your calipers are sticking/stuck

 

Hi. Sounds like a wheel bearing to me. Put the car on Jack or axle stands, spin the wheel on neutral and You should be able to hear what is it. 99% wheel bearing :-) If so, Camskill is the cheapest place to get wheel bearings.

 

thanks I'll try that

 

Be interested to know what you find out. I have a similar problem. Brakes and wheel bearings have been ruled out though. It seems it may be the "transfer idler bearing”, but I’m now worried about driving 90 miles to my nearest specialist in case it goes bang, so can’t find out at the moment.

 

Check the rear diff has enough oil in it before doing anything else, may save you an unecessary big bill

 

well i can say its not the rear brakes thats making the noise. They've been changed and is still making the howl mainly between 30 & 50mph. However I have noticed when I go over a bump the tone/pitch changes.

Any ideas

 

tyres uneven wear across the axle. Have you changed a tyre recently. I have the same problem on my forrester.

 

I do need to change the back tyres due to there being splits in the side walls (previous owner bought new wheels with budget tyres) but not been changed for over two years. I'm hoping it's just the wheel bearings but want clarification

 

I had similar on my car turned out to be wheel bearing. Good luck.